The Daily Life Of Mei Furen Doting On Her Husband - Chapter 59

Mei Zhuyu suddenly smiled, took the other sachet from her hand, bent down, and hung it up for her, saying, “No disease or disaster, all evil will retreat.”

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Dragon Boat Festival was a great day. From the rich and powerful to the common folk, everyone cleaned their houses, hung mugwort, or went out to bask in the sun. The cold of the year was completely gone on this day. But to some special people, the Dragon Boat Festival brought a different kind of excitement.

In the kitchen of a house where people open the window to let the smoke out, some of the black ash floating out of the chimney was different from ordinary black ash. It twisted and aggregated. If one looked closely, they’d see they’re all the size of sesame seeds. They squeak and pop in the mugwort smoke, turning into clumps of ashes and falling to the ground.

There were also black and gray furry animals driven out from the corners. Ordinary people just thought they’re mice, but if someone really looked closely, they would find that the creatures had no heads or faces. They were not mice at all, but monsters that breed in dark corners and liked to eat moldy things.

Rusty things also accumulate on the door beams of people’s houses. If the family hung calamus and mugwort on the door, the rust would slowly peel off and sink into the soil. But if some people were lazy and didn’t hang calamus and mugwort, the door would get covered with “rust”, and the “rust” from the neighboring doors would also slowly crawl over. Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but if the family touches this “rust” many times when opening and closing the door, they’ll suffer minor illnesses throughout the year.

In addition to these little monsters that were easy to spawn and didn’t cause much harm, there were also more troublesome creatures. For example, under Qujiang Lake, there was a dark tide surging. People might think it was just fish or water plants, but Wu Zhen knew that these were drowned puppets that had been dormant at the bottom of the river for a winter and a spring, awakened by the sun during the Dragon Boat Festival. These creatures grew on the bones of people and animals that drowned in the river. In the water, they’re as transparent as the river itself, but if someone stood higher, they could see their shadows. Children were prone to drowning in summer, often because of these things. Once they entered waters where drowned puppets gathered, it was difficult to struggle free.

Wu Zhen disliked these things. Every summer, she and the Snake Lord had to fish for these evil creatures in various waters around Chang’an City like catching fish. They put them on the shore and waited for the sun to dry them, but they grew too fast to catch them all each year.

In addition to the drowned puppets, there was another spirit that appeared at the Dragon Boat Festival—Wu Zhen’s favorite, named “Yang Ming”. It also grew in water, but Yang Ming was harmless to people. Not only was it harmless, but it was also beneficial. At the Dragon Boat Festival, Yang Ming would always break out of its cocoon in the water and fly to the sky, emitting a clear and pleasant cry. This spirit lived only on the Dragon Boat Festival, choosing a person it liked and landing on that person’s head. While the chosen person wouldn’t be completely cured of all ailments, they would feel refreshed and relieved of all fatigue.

Wu Zhen saw a gust of wind blowing across the river, causing ripples on the surface. Suddenly, she smiled and pulled Mei Zhuyu’s horse, chasing the wind to a place downstream of Qujiang Lake. When the breeze died down, they also stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Mei Zhuyu asked.

Wu Zhen simply said, “Nothing, I’m looking for Mei Si and the others. They may be here.” 

She pretended to look above Mei Zhuyu’s head unintentionally, and saw that two of the Yang Mings that rose up with the wind really landed on Mei Zhuyu’s head, and she was immediately relieved.

Mei Zhuyu didn’t care about these little things. Although he could see Yang Ming flying over his head, a shadow moving slowly on the side of the road, white flags fluttering above the willow trees, and monsters with evil spirits mixed in the crowd, he had Wu Zhen by his side, so he behaved like an ordinary person, as if nothing was unusual.

Seeing Wu Zhen looking around, he asked, “Will my cousin come over?”

Wu Zhen nodded, “Yes, they participate in the dragon boat race every year.”

At that moment, someone on the other side of the river shouted, “Sister Zhen.” Both of them had good eyesight and immediately recognized that the group of young men in purple clothes on the other side of the river were Mei Si, Cui Jiu, and others.

Mei Si and the others knew Wu Zhen’s character well, so they took the initiative to come by boat. As soon as they reached the shore, Cui Jiu jumped off the boat and ran over, saying, “Sister Zhen, didn’t we agree to wait at the platform? Why are you here? We’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Wu Zhen said, “Forget it, it’s my fault, let’s go.”

“Wait a minute!” Mei Si also ran over, “Sister Zhen, why aren’t you wearing the same clothes as us? It will look so ugly later.”

Wu Zhen replied, “I’m not planning to participate in the dragon boat race this year.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the remaining men panicked, “What?! Didn’t you participate last year? Why aren’t you participating this year?”

“Yes, we reserved the front drummer position for you. Now that Sister Zhen is quitting, where can we find someone to fill in temporarily?” 

Someone else wailed, “Sister Zhen, my dear sister! You’re trying to kill us! We all agreed that we must win this year!”

After Wu Zhen finished listening to their wailing, she pointed at Mei Zhuyu next to her and said, “I’m saying I won’t participate. Let him take part.”

Everyone was speechless for a moment. They looked at the tall and thin Mei Zhuyu. Finally, a young man asked weakly, “Can he play the drums?”

Though he asked this question, everyone understood that he was really asking if Mei Zhuyu had the strength. After all, the front drum was not just an ordinary drum. If they wanted to hit it loudly, they needed strength. Mei Zhuyu looked like a weak scholar no matter how they looked at him. What use was being tall?

Wu Zhen understood their thoughts and smiled, “What, you don’t trust the person I recommend?”

Zhao Songyan was different from the others. While they were still hesitating, he had already nodded sincerely, “I believe it.” He had witnessed Mei Zhuyu’s violent side with his own eyes.

Others: …This lackey is so shameless to be the first to flatter!

So the rest of the group, unwilling to lag behind, regardless of what they thought in their hearts, all said, “I believe it!” 

“I believe it too!”

Wu Zhen glanced at Mei Zhuyu and reassured her brothers, “Don’t worry, I’ve experienced your brother-in-law’s strength.”

The young men, upon hearing this, all burst into laughter, some even falling over. One short and skinny young man kept laughing long after everyone else had stopped. Wu Zhen lightly whipped him and said, “That’s enough. If you laugh any more, I’ll make you cry.”

When they all looked up at the sky, Wu Zhen approached Mei Zhuyu and said, “Originally, I was going to do it myself, but my waist hurts, so how about you take my place?”